Routledge Handbook of National and Regional Ocean Policies

Biliana Cicin-Sain, David Vanderzwaag, Miriam C. Balgos, Biliana Cicin-Sain, David Vanderzwaag, Miriam C. Balgos

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317658054
• Subtopic: Ecology
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This comprehensive handbook, prepared by leading ocean policy academics and practitioners from around the world, presents in-depth analyses of the experiences of fifteen developed and developing nations and four key regions of the world that have taken concrete steps toward cross-cutting and integrated national and regional ocean policy.

All chapters follow a common framework for policy analysis. While most coastal nations of the world already have a variety of sectoral policies in place to manage different uses of the ocean (such as shipping, fishing, oil and gas development), in the last two decades, the coastal nations covered in the book have undertaken concerted efforts to articulate and implement an integrated, ecosystem-based vision for the governance of ocean areas under their jurisdiction. This includes goals and procedures to harmonize existing uses and laws, to foster sustainable development of ocean areas, to protect biodiversity and vulnerable resources and ecosystems, and to coordinate the actions of the many government agencies that are typically involved in oceans affairs.

The book highlights the serious conflicts of use in most national ocean zones and the varying attempts by nations to follow the prescriptions emanating from the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention and the outcomes of the 1992, 2002, and 2012 sustainable development summits. The interrelationship among uses and processes in the coast and ocean requires that ocean governance be integrated, precautionary, and anticipatory. Overall, the book provides a definitive state-of-the-art review and analysis of national and regional ocean policies around the world.

Part I
Introduction

1
A Comparative Analysis of Ocean Policies in Fifteen Nations and Four Regions

Miriam C. Balgos, Biliana Cicin-Sain, and David L. VanderZwaag

For too long, the world acted as if the oceans were somehow a realm apart – as areas owned by no-one, free for all, with little need for care or management. The Law of the Sea Convention and other landmark legal instruments have brought important progress over the past two decades in protecting fisheries and marine ecosystems. But this common heritage of all humankind continues to face profound pressures.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, at the 2004 meeting of the Seychelles and the United Kingdom, ‘Reefs, Island Communities and Protected Areas: Committing to the Future’, (Greenpeace, 2008: 2)

Introduction

The management of oceans has always presented a challenge because of their fluidity, magnitude, geographic scope, and variety of uses. Hampered by powerful sectoral and traditional modes of governance, ocean management has become increasingly difficult as the oceans continue to absorb the unabated impacts of human uses, both downstream and upstream.

Beginning in 1945, the enclosure by coastal nations of ocean space adjacent to their coastlines as a means of asserting jurisdiction over the resources found in those areas – such as fisheries, and oil and gas – triggered the development of a new paradigm for international ocean governance: the worldwide acceptance of national jurisdiction over 200 nautical mile ocean zones. A series of international conferences, beginning in 1958, aimed to restore order and coherence at the international level after coastal nations put forward claims of extended ocean jurisdiction of various widths and powers. Three Law of the Sea Conferences, held under the auspices of the United Nations, were conducted to sort out the rights and duties of nations regarding oceans. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was concluded after nine years of negotiation in 1982 and came into force in 1994. The Convention represented a constitution for the world’s oceans, and it detailed the rights, duties, and obligations of nations related to the ocean and its resources (Cicin-Sain and Knecht, 1998).

While the 320 Articles contained in UNCLOS address virtually all ocean issues and established international norms for future ocean governance, it generally provided little guidance to nations on how to govern ocean resources in an integrated manner, how to deal with the effects of one use on other uses, or how to bring ocean and coastal management together (Cicin-Sain and Knecht, 1998).

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) convened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and produced five major outputs: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); Agenda 21; and a set of forest principles (Johnson, 1993). The Rio Declaration provided a set of twenty-seven non-binding principles to guide national and international actions on the environment, development, and social issues. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21, which was intended to act as a roadmap to sustainable development, stressed the importance of oceans and coasts in the global life-support system, as well as the positive opportunities that ocean and coastal areas and resources offer for sustainable development. Chapter 17 called for integrated policy and decision-making processes and institutions for the integrated management and sustainable development of coastal and marine areas, at both the local and national levels. It also suggested actions that coordinating institutions should undertake, and called for cooperation among states in the preparation of national guidelines for integrated management processes and in carrying out biodiversity conservation measures within their national jurisdiction. Integrated coastal and ocean management was also the recommended framework for dealing with coastal and ocean issues under the UNFCCC and the CBD (Cicin-Sain and Knecht, 1998).

These prescriptions were further reinforced at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, at which the world’s political leaders agreed to include among the major targets on oceans the promotion of integrated coastal and ocean management at the national level, and the encouragement and assistance to countries in developing ocean policies and mechanisms on integrated coastal management (United Nations, 2002). The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island States, and the Mauritius Implementation Strategy also prescribe the use of integrated coastal [and ocean] management (ICM) as a framework for addressing ocean and coastal issues (Cicin-Sain et al., 2006).

Moving toward integrated oceans governance at national and regional levels

Until recently, most coastal nations of the world have relied on a variety of sectorial policies to manage different uses of the ocean, such as shipping, fishing, energy extraction, and recreation. This was sufficient in a time of resource abundance and few conflicts among ocean uses, but this time has long passed. In most nations and world regions, conflicts among the many uses of the oceans abound, and nations and regions face issues of resource depletion, pollution, and biodiversity loss, as well as a range of harmful effects from climate change. Countries are also facing important challenges from new uses of offshore waters, such as offshore aquaculture and wind farming, which necessitate the development of more elaborate and cross-cutting frameworks for national ocean policies.

Over the last two decades, a number of coastal nations have undertaken concerted efforts to articulate and implement an integrated vision for the governance of the entire ocean areas under their jurisdiction including their internal waters, territorial seas, and exclusive economic zones (EEZs). This is a very encouraging development, responding to the reality of serious conflicts of use in most national ocean zones, and to the prescriptions articulated in both UNCLOS (‘the problems of ocean space are interrelated and must be treated as a whole’) and in UNCED (given the interrelationship among uses and processes in the coast and ocean, ocean and coastal governance must be ‘integrated in content and precautionary in ambit’) (Cicin-Sain et al., 2006).

The move to create comprehensive national ocean policies to harmonize existing uses and laws, to foster sustainable development of ocean areas, to protect marine biodiversity and vulnerable resources and ecosystems, and to coordinate the actions of the many government agencies that are typically involved in oceans affairs is thus a growing practice, with more and more nations embarking on the development of a national ocean policy. Initial research indicates that there at least twenty-three countries and four regions of the world that have, or are taking concrete steps toward, cross-cutting and integrated national and regional ocean policies (not only separate sectorial policies). Examples include nations already in the phase of implementing national ocean policies (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and United States), nations in the process of formulating national ocean policies (New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, and Vietnam), and nations in the preparatory phase of planning for national ocean policies (Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand).

At the regional level, three regions have undertaken systematic efforts to formulate regional ocean policies: the Pacific Islands region, the East Asian Seas region, and the European Union. A fourth region, Africa, is beginning such a process in the context of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

In all of the cases noted, nations and regional entities are facing the challenge of developing new concepts, procedures, and structures, and as such have much to gain from working with one another to share information and to draw lessons and best practices. As they embark on national- and regional-level ocean policy formulation, many nations – in particular, small island developing states – will need assistance in mapping and delimitation of their EEZs, and in developing new institutions and procedures.

The purpose of this book

The focus of this book is on the development and implementation of integrated ocean policies at both the national and regional levels. At the national level, by ‘integrated ocean policy’ we mean the cross-cutting policy framework for the integrated management of a nation’s marine jurisdiction (territorial sea and EEZ). Integrated ocean policy is established for the purpose of providing a coordinated approach to the management of the whole range of marine uses and activities across all maritime sectors for the protection of the social, economic, and environmental values within a nation’s marine jurisdiction (Petrachenko and Addison, Chapter 4). The development of an integrated ocean policy is an evolutionary process commonly initiated by the national government and involves consultation with various stakeholders.¹ It is guided by principles prescribed by international ocean law, and the policy itself will typically define guiding principles for the management of oceans and coasts under national jurisdiction. Policy might encourage integrated planning at various scales, for example the establishment of different tools for the planning of large ocean management areas (LOMAs) and coastal management areas (CMAs) such as in the case of Canada (Mageau et al., Chapter 3), or ecosystem-based planning in the case of Australia (Petrachenko and Addison, Chapter 4). The integrated ocean policy can take the form of comprehensive legislation, a range of policy initiatives that are marine-related and legislatively based, or an executive directive for the adoption of an oceans or marine strategy (Mageau et al., Chapter 3; Smith et al, Chapter 6; Petrachenko and Addison, Chapter 4). Integrated ocean policy does not replace sectorial policies related to oceans, but seeks to harmonize existing laws and policies, to reconcile conflicts, and to minimize duplication, inconsistencies, and overlaps in existing legislation or policy directives.

Regional entities have a useful role to play in assisting states both in developing national ocean policies for their ocean zones, as well as in articulating common approaches to the governance of particular ocean regions shared by various nations. Significant work along these lines is already taking place in the Pacific Islands region, the East Asia region (through the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia, or PEMSEA), the Asia Pacific region (through Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC), and the European Union. Significant work to bring nations together to address common transboundary regional issues related to the coasts and oceans is also being carried out in many regions of the world, through the Regional Seas Programme and the large marine ecosystem (LME) projects or programmes (Freestone et al., 2010). While systematic comparative analyses of these experiences are needed, this lies outside the scope of this book.

This book provides policy analyses of the experiences of fifteen countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam) and four regions of the world (East Asian Seas, European Union, Pacific Islands, and Sub-Saharan Africa) in the development and implementation of integrated national and regional ocean policy (see Table 1.1 and Figures 1.1 and 1.2). The case studies have been commissioned from leading ocean policy academics and practitioners from around the world and follow a similar prescribed format.

The combined EEZs of the countries included in the study comprise 49.42 per cent of the world’s EEZs (the countries total), while the combined EEZs of the regions covered comprise 54.65 per cent of the world’s EEZs (the regions total), bringing these ocean areas under ongoing and evolving efforts of integrated management (see Table 1.2). This is an important and encouraging finding in and of itself, because it shows that a large portion of the world’s EEZs are already the subject of deliberate efforts by national and regional authorities to improve oceans governance.

The aim of the book is to learn from this wide range of national and regional experiences, to understand the dynamics of integrated ocean policy development and implementation, to identify factors that contribute to successful policy development and implementation, and to draw lessons that may be useful to other nations and regions as they move to develop and implement national and regional ocean policies.

Table 1.1 List of countries and regions included in the study

	Country/ies	Region
Asia	India, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam	East Asian Seas
Oceania	Australia, New Zealand	Pacific Islands
Americas	Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States
Europe	Norway, Portugal, Russian Federati...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• PART I Introduction
• PART II National Ocean Policies
• PART III Regional Ocean Policies
• Appendix A: A Guide to Comparative Case Studies on National Ocean Policies
• Appendix B: A Guide to Comparative Case Studies on Regional Ocean Policies
• Appendix C: Synopses of National and Regional Ocean Policy Case Studies
• Appendix D: Recommendations on Enhancing Integrated, Ecosystem-Based National and Regional Ocean Policies Made in the Rio+20 Process
• Index